'I had to put on Peppa Pig (kiddies cartoon) on for the little one so I could get my wife's attention,' says Whiteley

Allister Coetzee loosely admitted wisdom comes with age but he stopped short of conceding that as Springbok coach he has wasted a year in delaying Warren Whiteley's appointment as team captain.

Coetzee and the wider rugby public will‚ of course‚ never know whether the Springboks' annus horribilis in 2016 might have taken a different trajectory with Whiteley at the helm.

The 29-year old though was yesterday installed as the 58th Springbok captain and will hold the reins this year as Coetzee hopes to establish some much needed stability in his squad.

Despite the fact that Whiteley captained the Golden Lions to the Currie Cup crown in 2015 and the Lions to the Super Rugby final last year‚ Coetzee overlooked his credentials opting instead for Adriaan Strauss last season.

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It was argued Coetzee could not guarantee Whiteley a place in his starting line-up ahead of Duane Vermeulen.

A year on and Strauss has stepped aside‚ Vermeulen is still running into‚ and occasionally through brick walls for Toulon in the south of France‚ but most importantly Whiteley has grown in stature as captain of the Lions.

Last year's march to the Super Rugby final was no fluke and they are well on their way to again securing one of the favourable positions in the play-offs.

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Whiteley is no Vermeulen and vice versa.

Coetzee believes the two players can complement each other and it doesn't mean they can't be on the playing surface at the same time.

Coetzee is envisaging slightly different role for Vermeulen who is at his best as a remove-the-door-from-its-hinges No8.

“When I selected Warren as captain it was based on his performances as the best No8 in the country. I had numerous chats with Duane.

"In terms of the leadership they complement each other very well. It would be a great combination to have a player like Warren and Duane in the side.

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“Duane plays like a No7 at times. He is a great line-out expert‚ he is strong defensively‚ he can run off nine and he sometimes plays towards the ball as well.

“Warren plays in the wide channels‚ like he does for the Lions and has linking ability with the backline. If you look at the seven‚ eight combination it is a logical combination.

"I'm happy with a combination that includes Warren at eight‚ Duane at seven and one of the other flankers at six.

“When a team has an attacking mindset they use their loose forwards to give them width in the wider channels.

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"Warren does it well for the Lions. It will be the same role at the Springboks. We have Franco (Smith) as attack coach and that is his philosophy. We have to have consistency in that thinking.”

He had better. Deploying Whiteley like he did last year would be counterproductive. The Springboks' playing style may ultimately determine how effective Whiteley will be as captain.

Whiteley wore his broad‚ trademark smile yesterday.

Coetzee broke the news to him during a long one-on-one meeting on Monday.

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“It was a long chat‚ not just all rugby but life as well‚” recalled Whiteley.

“Getting to know each other and learning more about the other.”

Whiteley had to resort to innovative means for an opportunity to break the news to his wife.

“I had to put on Peppa Pig (kiddies cartoon) on for the little one so I could get my wife's attention. She was quite shocked by the news.

“I haven't had a chance to think about it (the captaincy). I'm just grateful for the opportunity.”

- TMG Digital/TMG Sport